


Can't Help

by orphan_account



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: College!Michael, Drug dealer!Michael, F/M, Father!Michael, He's got a baby girl awe, Punk Daddy Clifford, punk!michael
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-29
Updated: 2014-10-01
Packaged: 2018-02-19 07:09:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2379395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael was 19 when he messed up. He wasn't exactly the nicest guy- tattoos, different colored hair, piercings, and dealing. But then his fiancee of 3 years was pregnant, with his child. After his daughter was born, she took off, leaving him to take care of her.  5 years later, he's in college, he and his daughter are doing perfectly fine on their own. But then Michael has issues in class, and he needs a tutor- who just so happens to be a straight A student who doesn't know what his issue is with her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Preview

Michael sighed, looking over his shoulder again as he and his 5 year old daughter, Adelaide, pushed their was through the supermarket, looking for the ‘special soup’ she wanted.

"It has princesses on it, daddy! It’s the only one I can eat!" She looked up at him, her dirty blonde hair bouncing as she stood on her tip-toes. They were quite the sight- her in a bright pink tu-tu and All Time Low kiddie shirt with combat boots, her favorite pink and blue bow holding her hair out of her face, and Michael in ripped black jeans, holey Green Day muscle shirt, tattoos covering his arms, a lip ring, earrings, and eyebrow piercing in his face. He pouted back at the little girl, her hand tightly clasped in his. He glanced back at the shelf, looking once more when he smiled, picking Addy up. "Is this," He pointed at the can of chicken soup with Cinderella and co. on it, "the soup, princess?"

Adelaide grinned, nodding her head and reaching for the can. Michael glanced at the price, his lip ring going between his teeth as he glanced at their next to empty cart. He set her down and she placed the can in the cart before returnning to her daddy’s side, grabbing his hand. “What else do we need?”

Michael was about to answer when a woman with two kids of her own passed, scoffing at the pair. 

"What kind of influence are all of those tattoos giving that poor little girl? She’s probably scared to death of you." She glared at Michael, glancing uncaringly at Adelaide. 

"I’m not scared! Daddy’s pictures are cool. They all mean something special." Addy chirped up, a big smile on her face. 

"Well, people like your daddy are why my kids are going to end up like that. Giving false hope to having a future even when all you do is smoke and party. I hope your mummy isn’t like that." The woman rolled her eyes, walking away as the little girl’s grin fell, her eyes dropping to her feet. 

"C’mon, princess, don’t listen to her." Michael released his grip on the cart that had grown tighter throughout the exchange, leaning down to look at his daughter. "It’s you and me, remember? We don’t need anyone else. You and me against the rest, right?" Addy nodded, shuffling her feet and not looking at Michael. "Will you smile for me, princess?" He grinned at her, but she didn’t budge. He frowned, biting the lipring again. "Don’t make me get the tickle monster." He watched as she fought back a smile, shaking her head. 

"No daddy, no tickle monster." She looked up at him, pleading in her eyes.

"Here he comes…" Michael smiled, raising his hand slowly wiggling his fingers.

"No, daddy, no!" She giggled, trying to pull away to get away, but his hand swooped down and started tickling her middle, laughter erupting from the two. "S-st-top dadd-dy!" She laughed out, wiggling around. He stopped a moment later, her giggle still bubbling out every so often. 

"All better?"

"All better, daddy." She smiled, wrapping her tiny arms around his neck. He smiled, his eyes closing as he wrapped his large arms around her and picking her up. She loosened her grip a second later, adjusting herself in his arms. "Are we finished shopping yet?" She grinned, knowing the last thing they had to get.

"Hmm… I think so…" Michael playfully glanced over the cart one time before looking back at her. "Time to head to the line."

"No! We have to get your hair color!" She laughed, running a hand through his faded green hair. "You said I could pick." Adelaide crossed her arms, frowning at him.

"That’s right!" He smiled, his free hand grabbing onto the cart and wheeling them to the hair isle before setting her down. "Pick any color, princess."

"Any color? Like, any any color?” she tested, narrowing her eyes.

"Yes, any any color." Michael confirmed, watching as she scanned over the choices. Her eyes widened and she rushed forward, picking the one box he didn’t want before rushing over and holding it up to him. 

"This one!"

Michael eyed the box of light pink coloring, making a face. “Are you sure, Adelaide?”

"Yes, daddy! It’s fairy pink!” She jumped, holding the box. Michael sighed, nodding ever so slightly. She smiled, dropping it into the cart and the pair heading to the front of the store.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or in which Michael is late for class, baby Clifford spills glitter in his bag, and the professor is a complete dick.
> 
> 2,018 words

_Poke._  
"Daddy?"  
 _Poke Poke.  
_ "Daaadddyyyy." Adelaide streched out the name, poking Michael’s cheek as he snoozed away in the queen sized bed they shared, the TV on the other side of the room playing Spongebob. The time on the stove read 8:30, and Michael’s alarm on his crappy flip phone had gone off about 3 times since it’s initial time of 8:15.

"Daddy, you need to get up." The 5 year old whispered, leaning closer to his ear and cupping her hands around it. "You have to help me get ready for school."

Michael’s eyes fluttered open, his pale green ones meeting her hazel ones. “Five more minutes, Ad.” He mumbled, yawning and rolling over.

"But Daddy," she poked his back this time, "Hayley’s gonna be here in 10 minutes to take me."

Michael, at hearing her words, shot straight up like a bat out of hell, his eyes wide. “It’s 8:30?!” He asked, glancing around and grabbing his phone, flipping it open to see. “Fuck, okay, go grab some clothes while I get your bag together.” He smiled, trying to keep himself calm as he swung his legs out from under the Barbie princess sheets. Adelaide nodded, walking over to the dresser she and Michael shared, opening her bottom drawer and searching through. Michael was rushing around the apartment, grabbing the papers and things she would need for kindergarten and placing them into her pink bag. He glanced around, looking for his own black bag, not seeing it. 

"Hey, princess?" He called, looking under the table, "Have you seen my bag?" Michael looked up, seeing Addy, now dressed in a purple tee and yellow skirt with her boots, frozen in front of him.

"Uhm… No?" She flashed a weak smile, hiding her hands behind her back as she avoided his gaze.

"Adelaide…" Michael sat up, running a hand through his newly died pink hair. "Where’s my bag at?"

The little girl sighed, trudging over to the small chest that held their television, opening the door and pulling out his bag. Michael sighed, standing as she handed it to him. He sighed, grabbing it, handing Addy hers as he went to the dresser, opening his top drawer and grabbing what he needed for later that day, quickly opening his bag to put them in when he noticed something.

"Uh, Addy? Why’s there glitter all over my bag?" He asked, dropping the substances back into the drawer and closing it before pulling out his books and dumping the shimmering pink dust all over the floor as Adelaide’s face turned red midway through a bite of poptart.

"I, um, tripped while working on my project for you." She shrunk in on herself. "I’m sorry, daddy."

Michael sighed, shaking out his bag. “It’s okay, princess, I just wish you would’ve told me.”

Michael heard the lock on their door start to open, a panic setting in. Hayley, their 17 year old neighbor and Ad’s babysitter since she was 2, was a few minutes early, and Michael was still in his boxers. “Shit. Okay, Addy, make sure you eat, I’ll be out in a second.” Michael dropped his bag, slamming the top drawer shut and opening the next one down, grabbing a random shirt and jeans, rushing into the bathroom right as the front door opened. He sighed, leaning against the sink for a moment to catch his breath. It’d been a hectic morning, and he’d only been awake 10 minutes and had no coffee or anything. He rested for a moment before pulling his shirt over his head and pulling the jeans on, running a hand over his face before pulling open the door and stepping out to see Hayley helping Adelaide pull her coat on.

"Morning." She glanced up, smiling. 

"Good morning, Hayley." He nodded back, grabbing his wallett off the table as he passed. "Did you brush your hair and teeth, princess?" He asked, glancing at his daughter.

"Oh!" She exclamed, running towards the bathroom. "I am now!" She smiled, her bag bouncing on her back. Michael chuckled, pulling out a $20 to give to Hayley. 

"Thank you again for doing this, Hales." He smiled, giving her a one-armed hug.

"Of course. By the way, nice hair, Mr. Clifford." Hayley smiled, laughing lightly. 

"You think so?" He smiled back, running a hand through it. "Addy picked it out this time." 

"I can tell." She chuckled. Adelaide walked out a moment later, walking over to Hayley. 

"Ready now!" She grinned so they could see her freshly brushed teeth.

"Okay, we’re off." Hayley smiled as Addy reached up to give Michael a hug. He kneeled down, wrapping her in his arms before placing a kiss on her head. "Have an amazing day at school." He grinned, standing back up.

"I will! Say hi to Vinny and Thomas for me!" She smiled, running to the door where Hayley was standing. 

"Will do, princess, have fun!" He called after them, sighing as they left. He glanced at the clock, groaning- he had 5 minutes to get everything together and get to the college that was 10 minutes away. Michael hurriedly opened the top drawer again, going through his assorted drugs within it and grabbing a small baggie of weed. He didn’t do anymore, only dealing. He quit, cold turkey, 5 years ago, the day he found out his girlfriend at the time was pregnant with Adelaide. 

He shook his head, trying to get rid of the thoughts of his ex-fiance- even though it’d been 4 1/2 years, the words she said still stung. He dropped the baggy into the front pocket of his school bag, making sure he had his books for class in the main pocket before pulling on his worn out shoes, running a hand through his hair again. He slung his bag over his shoulder, grabbing a pack of Adelaide’s princess gummies before walking out of the door of their one room apartment, locking it, and climbing in his car. 

The drive was a short one, spent with Michael blasting A Day To Remember and eating the small pack of gummies before he made it to the college. Once there, he quickly grabbed his bag, rushing up the steps and towards the classroom. Leave it to him to be late for the class he was failing- Chemestry 2. Unfortunately, Michael had been so busy looking for his class that he didn’t see the tiny little blonde with glasses and Marvel tee until they’d run into each other, the contents of his bag spilling out as they both fell to the ground.

"Shit, this isn’t happening." He grumbled, reaching and collecting the papers and books on the floor.

"Here, let me," The girl gave him a small smile, reaching to grab some of the other papers closer to her.

"I don’t need your help." He grumbled, snatching the papers from her hand.

"I was just-"

"Just watch where you’re going next time." Michael replied coldly, standing up and towering over the small girl, who just raised her eyebrows slightly and adjusted her glasses. 

"I could say the same for you, since you’re the one who ran into me." She stood up, walking away from him. He just sighed, walking down a little further and into the classroom.

"Late again, Mr. Clifford?" His professor stopped the lesson as he walked in.

"Sorry sir, I-"

"I see you had time to redye your hair." The professor crossed his arms as Michael sat down next to one of the few people he actually knew in the class.

"Yes, last night."

"You do realize eventually you’ll go bald?"

"Yes, I do, Mr-"

"And fairy pink? Is there something you’re trying to tell us?"

"N-no!" Michael blushed, trying to hide his face. "I let my 5 year old daughter choose the color."

"Ah. Well, get your textbook out and read chapter 13 for us, Mr. Clifford." The professor stepped towards the board. "Oh, and please do try to be on time next class, understood?"

Michael sighed, opening his book. “Yes, Mr. Bolton.”

After Michael had read through the chapter and Mr. Bolton had continued on with the lesson, his buddy nudged him.

"Where were you?" Calum asked, keeping his eyes trained forward.

"Overslept." He explained. "Didn’t hear my alarm and had to get Ad ready before I could."

Calum nodded, looking down at his paper to write down the formula on the board. “How is she? Haven’t seen her yet this term.”

"Good. She started school this year." He explained, copying Calum’s movements as he tried to make sense of the numbers. Calum just nodded again, going back to focusing on the teacher.

When the class finished, Michael stayed back a moment, after saying goodbye to Calum, trying to figure out how everything worked out.

"You know," Mr. Bolton spoke up from the front where he was erasing the board, "some tutoring would probably do you some good, Michael. I know someone who’s very good at this and doesn’t charge very much to help. I can give you her number if you’d like?"

Michael thought about it for a moment as he closed up his books. It would help, and he couldn’t afford to fail this class. “Yeah, if you wouldn’t mind?” He asked, slinging his bag back over his shoulder and up to the front where the teacher was holding a slip out for him.

"Her name is Isabella Daniel, she took and passed the class last semester with flying colors." The professor gave Michael the paper with her name and number, nodding at him. 

Michael gave him a slight smile before heading out to his car, eyes trained on the paper as he bit his lipring. He sighed, tossing his bag into the back, climbing in. After sitting for a moment, he debated the whole ordeal. It’d definitely help, and he certainly couldn’t fail, not at this point. But did he have the time and money to have a tutor? He sat for a full 10 minutes thinking before realizing the time.

He started up his car and headed to the gas station down the road so he could get his deal done in time. His client wasn’t there when he arived, so Michael, with his leather jacket on and time to kill, pulled out his phone and the paper, typing in the number.

It rang twice before his call was answered. “Hello?”

"Uh, hi. Is this…" He glanced at the paper. "Isabella?"

"It is, who is this?" The girl on the other end replied, and he could hear papers being shuffled.

"Uh, I’m Michael Clifford. Mr. Bolton gave me your number, he said you do tutoring for chem?" 

"Yes, I do. It’s about 20 dollars for a two hour session, and we can do it at your choice of place or my house, whichever you tell me beforehand."

Michael thought about it for a second. He had 2 weeks until his midterm, and one session a week wasn’t going to cut it, but for someone who lived off drug money and paycheck to paycheck from his part time job, $40 a week was a lot. He sighed. “Yeah, ok, that works. Do you think we could do twice a week? With midterms and all…”

"Sounds good. I can meet with you Friday at 4 if you’d like."

"That works." He sighed, hoping he could get Hayley to watch Adelaide for a bit.

"Is… there a problem?" She asked, concern laced in her voice.

"That’s just slightly on the pricy side for me. But I’ll do it, no worries."

"Okay. Well, I’ll text you at this number Friday morning to find out where you’d like to meet, ok?"

"Ok, see you Friday, Isabella." Michael sighed, hanging up before even hearing her response. He saw another car with his client in the front seat pull up, and sighed as he reached into the back.


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or in which Adelaide makes a mess, Michael isn't too sure about his tutor, and Isabella isn't scared at all.

 

**Friday, September 5, 2014**

**New Text: Isabella (7:20 AM)**

**Hey Michael, it’s Isabella, your chem tutor. I was texting to find out where you’d like to meet for our session today?**

 

Michael groaned as he squinted against the light of his phone. Who gets up this early, seriously? He thought, quickly sending her his address before turning back over to go to sleep until his alarm. He could hear Adelaide was up, munching on a poptart and watching Spongebob like every morning, but for some reason it was keeping him up this particular day. Sighing, he climbed out of bed and stood, stretching out. 

 

"Morning, Daddy!" Addy chirped from the sofa, standing on the cushions and leaning forwards against the back. 

 

"Morning, princess." Michael replied, his voice deeper than usual from his grogginess. "How’d you sleep?" He asked, walking over and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

 

"Good." She smiled, taking another bite of her poptart. "Will you watch cartoons with me until it’s time to get ready?" She asked, looking up at him through her lashes. Michael chuckled, walking to the front of the couch and stretched out, grabbing Adelaide by the waist and pulling her into his side. She let out a laugh, giggling as she tried to escape his hands. He nuzzled his face in her neck, laughing as she squirmed away. "Daddy!" She whined, escaping and sitting cross legged on top of his chest. She smiled triumphantly, taking another bite. "I win."

 

"For now, only because Daddy’s still tired." Michael yawned.

 

"Are you driving me to school today since you don’t have school?" She asked, smiling.

 

"Would you like me to?" He asked lazily, draping one arm over the armrest behind his head.

 

"Yes please." Addy grinned, rocking back and forth on his chest. "Hey, Daddy?"

 

"Yes, princess?"

 

"Will you play guitar for me when we get home? You haven’t played in a long time." She grinned. He knew she loved when he got up early and spent time with her, most of the time leaving it until after homework and dinner until she went to bed at 8. 

 

"I don’t know, we’ll see. I have a friend coming over and you are going to stay with Hayley for a few hours." He smiled, watching as her grin dropped slightly.

 

"Oh… Is it Uncle Ashton? Because last time he was here he scared me really bad." She frowned, and Michael chuckled.

 

"No, it’s not Uncle Ashton." He responded. Unknown to her little mind, when Ashton- Michael’s bartender friend he’d known since Ad was born- had actually shown up high out of his mind without warning, yelling about ailens and vampires. "It’s a friend who’s gonna help Daddy with school because he doesn’t really understand some of it."

 

"Oh, like how I help Jasmine with her castles because they always fall?"

 

"Yeah, sorta." He smiled at her as Adelaide nodded, looking back at the tv. Michael rested his eyes for a few moments until he heard his phone buzz on the other side of the room. He groaned again. "Let daddy up please, princess." He asked, and Addy climbed off, her eyes still glued to the tv.

 

**New Text: Isabella (8:04 AM)**

**I’ll be there, 4 o’clock.**

 

Michael didn’t even bother with a response, instead rolling his eyes and opening a new text to Hayley to tell her she didn’t have to drive Adelaide but needed her to babysit at 4. After it was sent, he collected his things and went to shower.

 

——3:30——

 

"This is not happening." Michael muttered, looking at the sight in front of him. He’d just gotten off work at the tattoo parlour down the road from his flat, and everything was going downhill fast.

 

Hayley texted afterschool, telling him that she had plans with her friends, so he was stuck having to watch Adelaide when Isabella got there. And now there was paper shapes all over the ground, glue covering the surfaces. He’d been in the bathroom not even 4 minutes, and the apartment was already a wreck. “Adelaide! Come help me clean this up please!” 

 

Within a minute, she was helping pick up all the little scraps of paper, the glue still all over the wood floor. He groaned again, standing and grabbing a papertowel, wetting it and falling to his knees again to wipe up the glue. It was going good, most of it coming off and Addy almost done with collecting and throwing out the little pieces of paper. But he was still worried about how well he and the tutor would get on, how Addy would do with her here… Everything. 

 

_Oh the joys of being a father._

 

He’d just about gotten it all up when he heard the doorbell ring, sighing as he stood and walked over to the door, opening it to see a girl, shorter than him- an easy feat at 6 foot, really- and a smile on her face that fell as soon as she saw him.

 

"You’re Michael?" She arched an eyebrow.

 

"Yeah? I’m assuming you’re Isabella?" He replied, confused as to why she sounded upset.

 

"Well, shall we then?" She asked, replacing her weird look with a small smile. Michael smiled back, moving out of the way and opening the door more for her. 

 

"Excuse the mess, we had a bit of an accident earlier." He chuckled, leaning down and wiping the ground quickly to pick up a little more of the glue. 

 

"We?" Isabella asked, setting her bag down in the chair at the table. Michael opened his mouth to respond when the bathroom door opened and Adelaide stepped out, reaching on her tip toes to turn the light off.

 

"Yeah, my daughter and I." He hesitantly responded as the little girl came and hid behind his leg. "She was supposed to be with a sitter but she wasn’t available tonight."

 

"Oh, that’s perfectly fine." She smiled again, crouching down to Adelaide’s height. "Hi there, I’m Isabella."

 

Adelaide gave a slight wave, clinging to Michael’s leg. She looked at Isabella for a moment before cocking her head to the side. “I like your hair.”

 

Isabella smiled. “Why thank you, sweetie!” She ran a hair through it, shaking out her light brown waves. “Your hair is really nice too.”

 

Addy grinned, stepping out from behind his leg for a minute. “Daddy says I get the color from him.” She looked up at Michael, who just chuckled. 

 

"Okay princess, why don’t you go sit and watch tv for a bit while Isabella and I work." He smiled at her as she nodded and walked over to the couch, plopping herself in front of the television.

 

"She’s very cute." Isabella smiled, pulling her own textbook from her bag.

 

"Uh, thanks." Michael never really knew what to say when someone told him that she was pretty- she looked more like her mom than him, and saying ‘thank you’ made it feel like the compliment was meant for him and not Ad.

 

"Okay, so, what all do you need to go over?" She asked once they had both settled, smiling at him.

 

"Uhm... Everything?" He shrugged. "None of this really makes sense to me." 

 

Isabella smiled, chuckling slightly. "Okay then, lets start at the first chapter."

 

 

Everything went smoothly, and Adelaide even ended up sitting with them to do some math that her teacher had sent home- which she had  _conveniently_ forgotten to tell Michael about. So, with Michael on one side doing an equation for class, Adelaide was sat on her knees on the other side of Isabella, staring intensly at the page of work in front of her, every so often asking for help on an addition problem, leaving her father chuckling as Isabella leaned over with a smile and held out her fingers for the little girl to count with.

 

When it came time for her to leave, the little girl gave her a hug and a Princess Peach sticker for being an 'amazing teacher' and Michael handing her the $20.

 

"Thank you for this. I need it, desparately." Michael chuckled as he walked her to the door.

 

"I wouldn't say desparately." She commented. "Bolton is just a tough teacher. He won't go back over it for you; he expects you to know how to do that on your own. But I'm here,

so there's no need to worry."

 

Michael just smiled with his hands in his pockets, watching as she climbed into her car- just to make sure nothing bad happened, since this wasn't exactly the  _best_ neighborhood. "Well, thank you anyways."

 

"Of course, Michael. Oh, and don't worry about the next session. You get a special discount, one hour free per session."

 

"I- what?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

 

"Consider it a sorry for running into you a few days ago and making you late." She smiled up at him from her seat."

 

He looked at her for a moment before it dawned on him. "Oh! Oh god, I'm sorry about that. It'd been a hell of a morning." He was definitely blushing, but he tried to hide it.

 

"Like I said, don't worry about it. And one hour off."

 

"This isn't charity, is it?" He looked at her skeptically.

 

"Not at all. Besides, if I get to see that cutie little girl again it'd be worth the free hour."  


End file.
